


Owl

by Fallenangel_Winchester



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Brotherly Love, Childhood Memories, Gen, Gift, Heartwarming, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Klaus Hargreeves-centric, Protective Diego Hargreeves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:27:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23450011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fallenangel_Winchester/pseuds/Fallenangel_Winchester
Summary: A seemingly lost gift, brings up old memories or Klaus remembers a time when a small and simple gift comforted him
Relationships: Diego Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves
Comments: 4
Kudos: 65





	Owl

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there 
> 
> This the first thing I have written for this tv show, I watched Umbrella Academy a month or two after it came out and loved it. Somehow to my surprise besides Klaus and Five, Diego became one of the characters I fell in love with. Every Klaus and Diego interaction was a joy to watch. 
> 
> This is in a way an attempt to write them, so I guarantee you that the characters are slightly off or at least I think so. 
> 
> As always even though I don't always say it,   
> Thank you so much for reading, comments are always welcomed and appreciated.

He found the charm hidden in a small pocket of one of the jackets he no longer wore. He had no idea how and why it ended up where it was.

_ Forgotten _

No, it wasn't, at least not completely. Now that his mind was lost in the haze, his body completely surrendered to the effects of the drugs, old memories started resurfacing, twinkling like stars in the darkness. Since the drugs did their job, all of the noises were so low that they were nothing but a background buzz, his gaze fell on the object he was holding in his hand. 

And he started giggling when his eyesight focused enough for him to recognize the shape of it. It was a small owl, no bigger than two inches, smaller than he remembered and heavier than he expected, bronze colored and almost having lost its original silver color. 

"How did you end up here little guy ?" 

Thankfully he could no longer see Ben or he would have to endure an unimpressed eyeroll and a few chosen words about his addiction.

But the owl was quiet, it wasn't alive although Klaus closed his eyes so he could pretend he heard the beating of wings and yellow eyes shining in the darkness. The owls reminded him of himself, they both roamed in the darkness, mostly alone with their thoughts, their eyes adjusted to the darkness, hiding in the shadows, observing...

At least they were there, he didn't want to remember, but during his loneliest hours, surrounded by terrifying visions, when there was not even a sign of the upcoming sunrise, an owl would hoot and the spell would be broken. It didn't always happen since the poor creatures weren't too fond of shadows themselves nor of little boys who cried themselves to sleep, yet their presence was welcomed whenever they chose to visit.

But those were bad memories, he didn't want them, so he refused them, pushed them out of his mind and opened his eyes to stare at the owl in his hand. There was a story behind it and he knew it, of course he did, he just needed a push to recall it.

The day when it was raining like never before... echoed on his mind and just like that he let himself be dragged into the memory, not as unpleasant as he expected.

_ "Dammit Diego! You startled me." he hissed, trying to be as quiet as possible, yet stealth was never his thing. _

_ "That's because your head is in the clouds again." he joked before he added, _

_ "Why on earth are you standing outside, watching the rain?"  _

_ "For no reason."  _

_ "Aha, then you can watch it from inside, come on." he must have seen something on Klaus's face that made him sit next to him and to shiver at the cold wind. _

_ "It's much more peaceful here." not even sure what he was saying, his thoughts miles and miles away, lost amongst the nightmares. _

_ "You're not going back there Klaus." both of them knew what he was referring to.  _

_ "It doesn't matter." he whispered, unable to stop himself, most of the nights he didn't want to talk or see anyone else, unable to wipe away the images from his mind, yet this time the words slowly slipped through his lips like little droplets, like the rain. _

_ "What do you mean ?" _

_ "There are still there, the dead...they are everywhere and sometimes I manage to ignore them, but...they won't stop talking and talking..." he barely registered the way his lips trembled at every word he spoke. _

_ "Wouldn't it be better for you if you get inside? Inside is warm and mom always says that the warmth will chase the cold away. What are you even doing here ?" _

_ "Wanted to see if one of them will appear." It sounded so simple to him but by the look his brother gave him he was more confused than ever which wasn't a surprise at all. _

_ "I don't understand." _

_ "That's because you're not smart enough." he replied only to chuckle at Diego's offended expression. _

_ "Now you're just imitating Five and that's not even funny." _

_ "Owls...there are no owls tonight. Because of the rain." _

_ His brother nodded in agreement even though he still didn't understand what owls had to do with Klaus, but appeared more fond than annoyed at his answers. _

_ “Let's go inside before mom finds us and then maybe you could ask her for some stories about owls.” knowing that there was nothing he could do, he allowed Diego to pull him inside where they ended up being scolded by their mother, still both of them got a story so it was worth the trouble. _

_ Not three days later after Klaus woke up from another nightmare, double checking whether he was still in his room or in the cold crypt, he heard the door handle twitch and just as he was preparing to throw a shoe at the intruder, a voice echoed in the room.  _

_ “Klaus? Don't throw anything at me. It's me...Diego.”  _

_ “What do you want ?”he grumbled, but let the shoe drop to the floor and turned on the lamp on his bedside table. _

_ Diego quietly, he always tried to move as quietly as possible, apparently he was working on improving his stealth, entered the room and sat on Klaus' bed. _

_ “Were you sleeping ?” _

_ “Not really. Why aren't you sleeping ? Are you sneaking out again to practice ?” _

_ “No.” but his red ears said a different story and Klaus could almost hear the arrival of his stuttering. _

_ “So what are you doing here ?” _

_ “I know that you've been having nightmares and...” he bit his lip, uncomfortably trying to speak as clearly as possible, which only got worse when he got nervous. _

_ “I brought you this.” he simply placed the small object in front of Klaus and added, _

_ “To keep you company and keep the ghosts away...try not to lose it.” and as if the display of emotions embarrassed him, he stuttered a quick goodnight and left the room. _

_ Klaus stared at the closed door for a minute, trying in vain to figure out what exactly happened. For a moment he thought that Ben must have shared something, since he was the quiet and sensible one, but he would have mentioned something to him. _

_ When he looked down to see, he knew that it had all been Diego's idea. _

_ In his lap on the blanket was sitting a tiny owl figurine. Delicate and silver, yet incredibly accurate to the real bird. _

_ Running his fingers on the surface allowed his mind to settle and calmed his breathing.  _

_ He knew he wasn't alone.  _

_ Now he would always have an owl at his side, a companion to give him comfort in the darkness as long as it lasted and it was the best gift he had ever gotten. _

  
  


It was indeed a good gift he admitted, even after so many years it brought a smile on his face. A smile for his brother's kindness, one he rarely showed, but still was there lurking underneath all that bravado. 

Somehow the owl found its way back to him, so it was only reasonable to keep it even though he lately didn't do anything reasonable.

_ Now he had a companion _

Even Ben smiled, smug bastard as if to say 'I told you so.'


End file.
